The 13th Canadian Screen Awards were presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television from 30 May to 1 June 2025, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television and digital media production in 2024.Connie Thiessen, "‘This Hour Has 22 Minutes’ among Canadian Academy ‘Special Award’ recipients". Broadcast Dialogue, 5 March 2025. The main gala was held on 1 June, hosted by comedian Lisa Gilroy, and was broadcast live on CBC Television and streaming on CBC Gem.
Nominees were announced on 26 March.Samritha Arunasalam, "Here's who is nominated for the 2025 Canadian Screen Awards". CBC News, 26 March 2025. Universal Language received the most nominations in film categories with 13, while Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent topped the field in television categories with 20 nominations.Etan Vlessing, "‘Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent’ Leads Canadian Screen Awards With 20 Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter, 26 March 2025. Canada's Drag Race was the most-awarded work overall with eight, while Universal Language would win the most awards in film categories with six.
Ceremony information The Canadian Screen Week programme of events prior to the main gala (including non-televised ceremonies for technical and genre categories) were consolidated and reduced to two days (30 and 31 May).
After multiple ceremonies in which television coverage was limited to an hour-long virtual ceremony or tape delayed highlights special on CBC Television, the academy announced that live coverage of the gala ceremony would return. It was initially announced that this coverage would be exclusive to the CBC's streaming platform CBC Gem. Just days before the ceremony, the academy announced that the ceremony would in fact air on CBC Television as well, indicating that the original streaming-only decision had been made in part because of the possibility of conflicts with CBC coverage of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs; Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final had been scheduled for 1 June if necessary, but the series was completed on 28 May after five games, thus freeing the 1 June date.
Barry Hertz of The Globe and Mail felt that the situation could have been avoided entirely if the awards had reverted to their traditional early spring scheduling, instead of retaining the late-May scheduling that was introduced in 2024. According to Academy CEO Tammy Frick, the academy had chosen to stick with the late-May scheduling as that aligned the awards with the annual television upfronts season, as well as the period of industry activity between the Cannes Film Festival and the Banff World Media Festival.
Category changes
Film
The eligibility criteria for films, which were dropped to a minimum of four commercial screenings at the 9th Canadian Screen Awards due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on film distribution in 2020, were increased to five commercial screenings."Canadian Screen Awards Rules and Regulations Change Highlights". Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. Due to evidence that some first-time film directors have mistakenly overlooked submitting their films for the John Dunning Best First Feature Award in the past, first-time film directors would now be automatically considered in that category regardless of whether they had actively submitted for it or not. Minor technical changes were also added to the eligibility criteria for Best Original Score and Best Art Direction or Production Design.
Television
Actors who played the same character in a series of television films would now be considered for the series performance categories instead of the television film performance categories. People credited as contributing writers would now be eligible to be included in writing nominations. The categories for Best Talk Series, Best Entertainment News Series and Best Morning Show were collapsed into a single new category for Best Talk or Entertainment News Series. The category for Best Performing Arts Program was discontinued, with programs in that category now eligible for either Best TV Movie or Best Variety and Entertainment Special. The category for Best Performance in Animation was renamed Best Voice Performance, considering voice acting across all forms of visual presentation. The category for Best Ensemble Performance in a Drama Series was discontinued, although the ensemble category for comedy series was retained. Minor technical changes were also introduced in music categories, as well as improved clarity about the distinction between supporting and guest performances.
Digital media
The category for Best Live Production for Social Media was collapsed into Best Interactive Production, and may now also submit in the television category for Best Live Entertainment Special if appropriate. A single merged category for Best Immersive Experience is now presented if the number of eligible submissions in either Best Immersive Experience, Fiction or Best Immersive Experience, Non-Fiction falls below six. Separate categories would continue to be presented if submissions exceed that cutoff.
News and sports
The separate categories for Best News Special (for pre-planned broadcasts about known news events such as elections) and Best Breaking News Special (for live coverage of unforeseen news events), which were introduced for the 12th Canadian Screen Awards but not actually presented that year, were collapsed back down into a single category for Best Live News Special.
Special awards The special award recipients were announced on 5 March.Alex Nino Gheciu, "‘Acolyte’ star Manny Jacinto, ‘Porter’ co-creator Marsha Greene among special Screen Awards honourees". Toronto Star, 5 March 2025.
Board of Directors Tribute: Ellis Jacob, Denise Robert Changemaker Award: Marsha Greene Radius Award: Manny Jacinto Sustainable Production Award: This Hour Has 22 Minutes
Other notes Kiefer Sutherland introduced the In Memoriam segment, including a special tribute to his father Donald Sutherland.Alex Nino Gheciu, "Kiefer Sutherland to pay tribute to late father Donald at Canadian Screen Awards". Toronto Star, 22 May 2025. The In Memoriam reel was accompanied by a live performance by Murray Lightburn of his song "Once Upon a Time in Montreal".
Film Best Motion Picture Best Direction The Apprentice — Daniel Bekerman Darkest Miriam — Brian Robertson, Julie Baldassi Gamma Rays (Les Rayons gamma) — Henry Bernadet, Vuk Stojanovic, Jean-Martin Gagnon Universal Language (Une langue universelle) — Sylvain Corbeil Village Keeper — Enrique Miguel Baniqued, Karen Chapman Who Do I Belong To — Annick Blanc, Maria Gracia Turgeon | valign="top" | Matthew Rankin, Universal Language (Une langue universelle) Ara Ball, Hurricane Boy Fuck You Tabarnak! (L'Ouragan F.Y.T.) Henry Bernadet, Gamma Rays (Les Rayons gammma) Atom Egoyan, Seven Veils Naomi Jaye, Darkest Miriam Meryam Joobeur, Who Do I Belong To Best Lead Performance in a Comedy Film Best Lead Performance in a Drama Film Cate Blanchett, Rumours Rojina Esmaeili, Universal Language (Une langue universelle) Kaniehtiio Horn, Seeds Emily Lê, Paying for It Pirouz Nemati, Universal Language (Une langue universelle) Taylor Olson, Look at Me Paul Spence, Deaner '89 Maïla Valentir, Ababooned (Ababouiné) Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice Oluniké Adeliyi, Village Keeper Christine Beaulieu, The Thawing of Ice (La fonte des glaces) Sean Dalton, Skeet Chaïmaa Zineddine Elidrissi, Gamma Rays (Les Rayons gammma) Britt Lower, Darkest Miriam Carrie-Anne Moss, Die Alone Oshim Ottawa, Atikamekw Suns (Soleils Atikamekw) Best Supporting Performance in a Comedy Film Best Supporting Performance in a Drama Film Graham Greene, Seeds Sandrine Bisson, 1995 Roy Dupuis, Rumours Danielle Fichaud, Universal Language (Une langue universelle) Will Sasso, Deaner '89 Mani Soleymanlou, Universal Language (Une langue universelle) Saba Vahedyousefi, Universal Language (Une langue universelle) Mary Walsh, Deaner '89 Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice Lise-Yolande Awashish, Atikamekw Suns (Soleils Atikamekw) Zahra Bentham, Village Keeper Lothaire Bluteau, The Thawing of Ice (La fonte des glaces) Micah Mensah-Jatoe, Village Keeper Tom Mercier, Darkest Miriam Sandra Oh, Can I Get a Witness? Maxine Simpson, Village Keeper Best Original Screenplay Best Adapted Screenplay Universal Language (Une langue universelle) — Matthew Rankin, Pirouz Nemati, Ila Firouzabadi Gamma Rays (Les Rayons gammma) — Henry Bernadet, Isabelle Brouillette, Nicolas Krief Mongrels — Jerome Yoo Seeds — Kaniehtiio Horn The Thawing of Ice (La fonte des glaces) — Sarah Lévesque, François Péloquin Village Keeper — Karen Chapman | valign="top" | Paying for It — Sook-Yin Lee, Joanne Sarazen Blue Sky Jo (La petite et le vieux) — Sébastien Girard Darkest Miriam — Naomi Jaye Seven Veils — Atom Egoyan Sharp Corner — Jason Buxton Shepherds (Bergers) — Sophie Deraspe, Mathyas Lefebure |- ! style="background:#EEDD82; width:50%" | Best Feature Length Documentary ! style="background:#EEDD82; width:50%" | Best Short Documentary |- | valign="top" | Yintah — Jennifer Wickham, Brenda Michell, Michael Toledano, Bob Moore, Sam Vinal, Doris Rosso, Daniel Cross, Mila Aung-Thwin Analogue Revolution: How Feminist Media Changed the World — Marusya Bociurkiw, Eponine Young Disco's Revenge — Peter Mishara, Omar Majeed, Christina Piovesan, Noah Segal, Sam Sutherland, Dave Harris, Nile Rodgers, Vivian Scott Chew, Stanley Nelson Jr. Okurimono — Laurence Lévesque, Rosalie Chicoine Perreault, Catherine Boily Wilfred Buck — Lisa Jackson, Lauren Grant, Alicia Smith, Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier, David Christensen | valign="top" | Hello Stranger — Amélie Hardy, Sarah Mannering, Fanny Drew Afterwards (Après-coups) — Romane Garant Chartrand, Nathalie Cloutier The Bird in My Backyard — Ryan Wilkes perfectly a strangeness — Alison McAlpine Who Loves the Sun — Arshia Shakiba, Zaynê Akyol |- ! style="background:#EEDD82; width:50%" | Best Live Action Short Drama ! style="background:#EEDD82; width:50%" | Best Performance in a Live Action Short Drama |- | valign="top" | On a Sunday at Eleven — Alicia K. Harris Are You Scared to Be Yourself Because You Think That You Might Fail? — Emily Harris, Bec Pecaut Bibi's Dog Is Dead — Shervin Kermani Fantas — Halima Elkhatabi Gender Reveal — Mo Matton, Léonie Hurtubise | valign="top" | Bryn McAuley, Bibi's Dog Is Dead Ali Eldurssi, Hatch Tara Hakim, I Never Promised You a Jasmine Garden Laura Luu, The Little Shopping Trolley (Le petit panier à roulettes) Lío Mehiel, Are You Scared to Be Yourself Because You Think That You Might Fail? Zoë Peak, On a Sunday at Eleven Ralph Prosper, Someone's Trying to Get In Ayo Tsalithaba, Gender Reveal Best Animated Short John Dunning Best First Feature Maybe Elephants — Torill Kove, Lise Fearnley, Maral Mohammadian, Tonje Skar Reiersen Beaupré the Giant (Géant Beaupré) — Alain Fournier Detours Ahead — Esther Cheung The Little Ancestor (La petite ancêtre) — Alexa Tremblay-Francœur Society of Clothes (Les gens dans l'armoire) — Jeong Dahee, Emmanuel-Alain Raynal, Pierre Baussaron, Christine Noël | valign="top" | Village Keeper — Karen Chapman Deaner '89 — Sam McGlynn Hunting Daze (Jour de chasse) — Annick Blanc Mongrels — Jerome Yoo Seeds — Kaniehtiio Horn Who Do I Belong To — Meryam Joobeur |- ! style="background:#EEDD82; width:50%" | Best Art Direction/Production Design ! style="background:#EEDD82; width:50%" | Best Cinematography |- | valign="top" | Louisa Schabas, Universal Language (Une langue universelle) Phillip Barker, Adriana Bogaard and Mark McGann, Seven Veils Brian Garvey, Andrea Perez Leon and David Edgar, Humane Zosia Mackenzie, John O'Regan, Márton Vörös and Rita Hetényi, Rumours Carol Spier, The Shrouds Gayle Ye, Paying for It Maya Bankovic, The Invisibles Vincent Gonneville, Shepherds (Bergers) Nick Haight, Young Werther